Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any part of the proposed HS2 rail line is to be built on a flood plain.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Given HS2 is a national infrastructure project of over 350 miles, HS2 does currently plan to cross floodplains. For Phase One, the assessment of all sources of flood risk can be found in Volume 5 of the Environmental Statement. For Phase Two, flood risk is detailed in the Appraisal of Sustainability.HS2 Ltd has a design aim that, for the lifetime of the development, there should be no increased risk of flooding for vulnerable receptors, including residential property, taking projected climate change impacts into account. The design of HS2 does consider the practicalities of a range of environmental factors, including flooding.

Aviation: Noise

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to begin consulting on the night noise regime for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports for the period beyond 2017.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is currently assessing the evidence base required to review the current night flight restrictions and we will publish our proposals for the period after October 2017 later this year.

Aviation: Noise

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to establish an Independent Aviation Noise Authority to participate in the planning and monitoring of proposed airport expansion in the South East of England, and of airport operations generally.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is considering carefully the recommendation from the Airports Commission to establish an Independent Aviation Noise Authority. Any decision to take forward such a body would be subject to consultation on its detailed functions.

Aviation: Noise

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to develop specific long-term targets to protect the public from the health impacts of aircraft noise.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Health impacts associated with aviation noise are already factored into policy appraisal where there is relevant robust evidence, including monetisation of these costs where this is possible.

Home Office

Offences against Children

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the total cost to date of Operation Midland into allegations of historic child sex abuse.

Lord Bates: The resourcing, and cost, of police investigations into non recent child sexual abuse allegations is a matter for the relevant Chief Officer.

Gangs

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to curb gang culture across the UK.

Lord Bates: Ending gang violence and exploitation is a priority for the Government and on 13 January 2016 we published a paper setting out our refreshed approach. This has a twin focus concerned with both reducing violence, including knife crime, and protecting vulnerable individuals from exploitation by gangs. The full refreshed approach can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ending-gang-violence-and-exploitation.This builds on our work since 2012 when we introduced the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme aimed and targeted at supporting local areas building their resilience and ability to respond to gangs. Since 2012, we have worked with 52 local areas facing problems associated with gangs through supporting peer reviews to identify the main local challenges.



Ending Gang Violence and Exploitation
(PDF Document, 132.44 KB)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Mexico: Religious Freedom

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether an incident of sectarian violence against Protestant families took place in Chiapas, Mexico, on 4 January; and what representations they have made about that incident to the government of Mexico.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While British officials in Mexico City have not yet been in touch with the Mexican authorities on this specific reported incident, our Embassy has for some time been in touch with a range of Mexico and UK-based non-government organisations about discriminatory violence against Protestant families in Chiapas. The most recent reported incident on 4 January seems to suggest an escalation in this violence. Our Embassy also regularly lobbies to ensure the perpetrators of all crimes are brought to justice and that all minority groups are respected and, where appropriate, offered protection.We continually raise the issue of freedom of religion or belief in bilateral and multilateral fora. This forms a core part of our human rights work and we frequently raise security and human rights concerns with Mexico. For example, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron); the then Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr Clegg), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed human rights issues during the State Visit of President Enrique Peña Nieto to the UK in March 2015.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Detainees

Lord Collins of Highbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo over the continued detention of the two Filimbi activists who were arrested in March 2015 and are now awaiting trial for allegedly forming a criminal gang and attempting to overthrow the regime of President Kabila.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our Chargé d’Affaires’ in Kinshasa called on the Justice Minister, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, with other EU Heads of Mission, in March and April 2015 to voice our concern at the arrest and detention without charge of the activists Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala. Officials from our Embassy in Kinshasa have also joined other international observers in monitoring court hearings in the case, and those of a number of other activists detained in early 2015.We continue to urge the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to act on the recommendations of its Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the arrests. The Commission found that there is no evidence that participants in the workshop were involved in activities of a terrorist nature, and recommended that a political solution be found in order to enable the release of activists Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala. We also continue to stress to the DRC government that civil society organisations must be allowed to hold workshops on democratic processes without fear of arrest or reprisal.

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the legal opinion issued by Philippe Sands QC concerning alleged violation of national, European and international arms transfer control law by their continued authorisation of arms exports to Saudi Arabia, especially in the context of their alleged use in Yemen; and what action they are taking in this regard.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is aware of this legal opinion provided on instructions from certain non-governmental organisations. In accordance with long standing Government policy we do not disclose legal advice given or received, and it would not be appropriate to discuss any potential or ongoing litigation matters. The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All arms export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking into account all relevant information, to ensure compliance with our legal obligations, including under international law. A licence will not be issued for any country if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria. This includes the export of arms to Saudi Arabia.

Embassies: Closures

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) UK embassies, and (2) UK consular offices, have been closed since 6 May 2010, and where those closures took place.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), has not closed any Embassies over this period. Operations were suspended in Tehran, Damascus, Tripoli and Sana’a for security reasons. Tehran re-opened in August 2015.The FCO currently has 268 posts (Embassies, Consulates-General, Consulates, Multilateral Missions and Trade and Investment Offices – Consular Offices are not classed as posts) worldwide. Since 2010 we have opened nine posts: in Juba (South Sudan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), San Salvador (El Salvador), Seattle (USA), Vientiane (Laos), Mogadishu (Somalia), Port au Prince (Haiti), Asuncion (Paraguay) and Wuhan (China). We have also upgraded eight posts: in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Calgary (Canada), Monrovia (Liberia), Recife (Brazil), Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad (India).Since 2010, we have closed the following Consulates and Consular Offices in Europe and elsewhere:2010: One: Consulate-General Geneva, Switzerland2011: Three: Consulate-General Lille, France; Consulate-General Venice, Italy; Consulate Florence, Italy2012: Three: Consulate-General Basra, Iraq; Consulate Funchal, Portugal; Consular Office Oporto, Portugal2013: Four: Consulate Pattaya, Thailand; Consular Office, Thessaloniki, Greece; Consular Office, Andorra; Consular Office Willemstad, Curaçao2014: Two: Consular Offices in Cali and Cartagena, Colombia. The FCO also withdrew its Provincial Reconstruction Team from Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan2015: Two: Consulate Chiang Mai, Thailand; Consular Office Bodrum, Turkey.The FCO downgraded the following Consulates-General and Consulates to Trade and Investment Offices since 2010:2012: Two: Consulate-General Lyon, France; Consulate Naples, Italy2014: One: Consulate Bilbao, Spain.Since 2010, we have developed new technology and new ways of working that has enabled us to deliver services differently in some areas. We now have three Consular Contact Centres that take calls from all consular customers, and are able to support around 80 per cent of those calling without further escalation to post, helping to ensure that Consular staff in-country are able to focus their time on those most in need of help. Some services have also been centralised, with customers able to access them by post, and increasingly through digital channels.

Commonwealth: Human Rights

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that all human rights issues, including those resulting from Boko Haram activities in Nigeria, are at the top of the priority action list for the Commonwealth and its new Secretary-General.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are committed to promoting efforts to address human rights abuses throughout the Commonwealth. We believe progress is fundamental to the Commonwealth’s ability to improve the lives of its people and develop peaceful societies. Terrorist attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria and in the wider region have brought untold misery to many. The UK remains firm in our determination to support Nigeria, and its neighbours, in their fight against terrorism.The Leaders’ Statement following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta noted that Heads had discussed peace and security, especially the fight against radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism, which are worldwide threats.While the Commonwealth Secretariat has done some work in this area, additional capacity is required to coordinate efforts and tie them in with wider efforts of the international community. At CHOGM, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced UK funding of up to £5million over five years for a Counter-Extremism and Counter Radicalisation Unit in the Commonwealth Secretariat. This initiative is also supported by Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Australia has said that it will commit around £250,000 of funding.We will work closely with the new Secretary-General when she takes up her post to ensure that the Commonwealth continues to play a role in supporting all members to meet their obligations on human rights as enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.

Kenya: Police

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent report by Saferworld Matching needs and resources: National Police Reserve and community security in Kenya's frontiers, and whether they have had discussions with the government of Kenya about contributing to the professionalism and accountability of the National Police Reserve.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Through our High Commission in Nairobi, the British Government has regularly discussed police accountability and professionalism with the Government of Kenya, including the Kenya Police Service. This has included discussions on the role of the Kenya National Police Reserve, though we do not currently work directly with them. The UK is working with the Government of Kenya to strengthen community security in some of Kenya’s most marginalised areas. The Conflict Security and Stability Fund is working to build capacity to ensure security forces in the region are better governed, more accountable and effective and to build community resilience to respond to security challenges through work with civil society. In addition, the Department for International Development launched the £13.7million Improving Community Security programme in 2015. This programme will work with government departments and non-governmental organisations, including Saferworld, to increase the security and safety of men, women and children in Kenya through increasing the capacity of institutions including the police and county government, to prevent and respond to violence.

Diplomatic Service

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many accredited diplomats from (1) Saudi Arabia, (2) the United Arab Emirates, (3) Kuwait, (4) Bahrain, (5) Qatar, (6) France, (7) Germany, (8) the Netherlands, and (9) the US, were resident in the UK on 1 January.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s records, the number of individuals resident in the UK on 1 January 2016 who were notified, with some form of diplomatic or consular status, to represent the following countries are:Saudi Arabia209The United Arab Emirates46Kuwait54Bahrain8Qatar15France196Germany138The Netherlands32The USA478

Diplomatic Immunity

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures are followed when a foreign national resident in the UK not previously understood to be a diplomat claims diplomatic immunity.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 the sending State must make certain that the agrément of the receiving State has been given for the person it proposes to accredit as its head of mission (Article 4). The UK also requires sending States to submit the names of military, naval and air attaches for approval (Article 7). Diplomatic missions are further required to notify the receiving State of the arrival of all members of the mission (Article 10). If a foreign national resident in the UK claimed to be a diplomat, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) would check whether the person’s name was on its database of foreign diplomats and their families as notified to the FCO by the sending State. As necessary, the FCO would also confirm with the relevant diplomatic mission that the individual was a member of the mission’s staff.

Diplomatic Immunity

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims of diplomatic immunity were advanced in UK courts, or other legal procedures, between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2016; how many of those were successful; and of which states those successful and unsuccessful claimants were citizens.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: A number of claims of diplomatic immunity have been advanced through the UK courts. However, statistics and details are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Diplomatic Immunity

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures are followed when a citizen of a foreign state claims diplomatic immunity as the representative of a third state.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Article 8(3) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 permits third country diplomats to be appointed to a diplomatic mission with the consent of the receiving State. Such appointments are rare, but the UK does accept them. If a third country national resident in the UK claimed to be a diplomat, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) would first check that the person’s name was on its database of foreign diplomats and their families. As necessary, the FCO would also confirm with the relevant diplomatic mission that the individual was a member of the mission’s staff.

Diplomatic Service

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2016 requests for diplomatic status or immunity were refused, and on what grounds.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: A small number of requests for diplomatic status or immunity from members of the public have been received by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and subsequently refused. However, statistics and details are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. It is incumbent on the sending State to inform the FCO of the appointment of staff, including diplomats, to any of its missions in the UK. The FCO is not required to give explicit consent to such appointments, except in the case of heads of mission and military, naval and air attaches.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Exports

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is being done to overcome the low level of exports contributing to the UK’s trade deficit.

Lord Maude of Horsham: I refer the noble Lord to the written statement I made on trade on Tuesday 19th JanuaryThe statement outlines a new, whole-of-government approach to expanding the number of exporters and the value they generate for the British economy. This will be delivered through a transformed UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), focused on priority markets and sectors. We will develop better digital platforms, work more closely with partners (including in the private sector) and make sure that our services match the needs of companies.UKTI will co-ordinate and review the UK’s export performance on behalf of the Cross-Government Exports Implementation Taskforce, led by the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills.

EU External Trade: China

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the claim by Aegis Europe that granting market economy status to China could put more than one million European jobs at risk.

Lord Maude of Horsham: A report by the Economic Policy Institute, on which the claim by Aegis Europe draws makes some significant omissions, uses some questionable assumptions and does not take account of a number of potential positive or mitigating effects in reaching its estimates. We understand that the European Commission will be undertaking a detailed assessment of the economic impacts of granting MES as part of their consideration of this issue.

Commonwealth: Trade Promotion

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are (1) currently taking, (2) plan to take, to promote trade and investment opportunities between the UK and other Commonwealth countries.

Lord Maude of Horsham: Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) is committed to helping UK business succeed overseas, including in Commonwealth countries. HMG is represented across the Commonwealth and, UK Trade and Investment has offices in around half of all Commonwealth countries as part of its global footprint. Dependent on the scale of opportunities in each country there are a range of export services that business can benefit from. In late 2013, UKTI opened in five new Commonwealth markets, and reinforced teams in four others. There are ten dedicated Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys in Commonwealth countries, charged specifically with the promotion of trade and investment in their respective markets.I attended the Commonwealth Business Forum in November 2015 in Malta, held in the margins of The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. My participation at this event advanced UK business interests with key decision makers and businesses from other Commonwealth countries.

Foreign Investment in UK

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to ensure that inward investment and job creation is encouraged on an equal basis across all the regions of the UK.

Lord Maude of Horsham: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) actively promotes all areas of the UK and is investing significant effort and resources to fully support HMG’s drive to rebalance the UK economy, whilst staying true to UKTI’s ‘UK First principle’.UKTI always ensures it offers the client the most suitable location options for that client’s businesses investment to be a commercial success, since success is the best guarantee of a long-term investment.

UK Trade with EU

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of imports from the EU in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what percentage of that amount is represented by imports from the Republic of Ireland.

Lord Maude of Horsham: The value of UK imports of goods and services from the EU28 was £290.6 billion in 2014. Imports from the Republic of Ireland amounted to £17.1 billion, or 5.9% of total UK imports from the EU28 (Source: ONS Pink Book 2015).

Department for International Development

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Fairtrade Initiative

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support Fairtrade Fortnight.

Baroness Verma: Fairtrade is trusted by consumers throughout the UK to enable the world’s poorest people to get a fair price for what they produce. Its leading role in the marketplace also makes it perfectly positioned to convene discussions of trade and development issues.Over the last six years, the Department for International Development has invested £18 million into Fairtrade and it will be continuing this support by engaging enthusiastically with Fairtrade fortnight.The Department is currently finalising a programme of events for this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight that will include DFID Ministers and expects to focus on raising awareness and discussions around food security for farmers in the developing world.

Developing Countries: Food Supply

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to eliminate food insecurity in developing countries.

Baroness Verma: The UK believes that poverty is the main cause of hunger, as most people are hungry or undernourished because they cannot afford to buy sufficient nutritious food. Much of the solution to hunger will therefore depend on inclusive economic growth, in particular in the agriculture sector. We have just published our new Conceptual Framework on Agriculture which sets out our priorities to accelerate impact on economic development, poverty reduction, and sustainable food systems and nutrition.Alongside this policy work, the UK has committed to a number of results that will deliver on the Global Goals, particularly on ending hunger. First, our nutrition manifesto commitment will improve by 2020 the nutrition of 50 million people who would otherwise go hungry. Second, with other Nutrition for Growth (N4G) signatories, we will prevent 20 million children becoming stunted. Lastly, in 2015, alongside other G7 countries, we will help address hunger and malnutrition among 500 million people by 2030 as part of the G7 Broad Food Security and Nutrition Development Approach agreed in Elmau.

Nepal: Earthquakes

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the present situation in Nepal, especially in outlying villages that cannot be reached by road, and (2) the aid that was sent to Nepal following the recent earthquakes; how much such aid they sent, and what assessment they have made of how much was sent by British citizens; and how much of that aid fulfilled the purposes for which it was sent.

Baroness Verma: While emergency aid has reached most areas, we still estimate one million people will be living in temporary shelters at altitudes above 1,500 metres over the winter and are in need of urgent cold weather support. DFID, through its partners, is providing winter support to approximately 42,000 families (over 200,000 people) both via in kind assistance (blankets, mattresses, clothes, shelter insulation, solar lamps and cook stoves), as well as through a number of activities that contribute to an enabling environment for an effective and responsive humanitarian support. For example we are supporting helicopter operations to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to communities in areas inaccessible by land. Winter distributions are over 60 % complete and are expected to be fully complete by the end of January.Information on total aid sent to Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake can be found online through UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair’s (OCHA) Financial Tracking System which is updated periodically. DFID’s response to the devastating earthquake now stands at £70 million following further commitments made at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction. Funds raised by the British public for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. More information on Nepal DEC work including a review of the response is available online. The UK is committed to ensuring that our assistance is made available to those most in need. We work with trusted partner NGO’s and UN agencies to deliver the UK humanitarian effort. These groups provide real time feedback of the situation on the ground to ensure DFID funds are used effectively.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the situation in Madaya; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood that access will now be possible on a regular basis.

Baroness Verma: The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syria crisis. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US.On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach town of Madaya, and the besieged areas of Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys have since arrived and more are planned. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoys.The UN and partners continue to do all they can on a daily basis to gain access to the 4.5 million Syrians in hard to reach and besieged areas. The UK supports UN agencies and its partners who are trying to secure such access and deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of SyriaA wide range of constraints on humanitarian access exist, including continued hostilities, onerous bureaucratic requirements, and attempts by parties to armed conflict to intentionally block access. In the past year, only 10% of all requests submitted by the UN to the regime to access besieged and hard to reach areas have been approved and delivered. That is why the UK played a critical role in co-sponsoring and lobbying for UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enable the UN to deliver aid into Syria without the consent of the regime. It is vital we maintain the pressure on the regime to let aid convoys in and to provide sustained, permanent and safe humanitarian access.The desperate situation in besieged and hard to reach areas shows why we need the international community to come together at the London Conference for Syria and the Region on 4 February to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis, especially regarding jobs and education. We also hope the Conference will put pressure on the parties to the conflict by shining a spotlight on violations of international law and impediments to humanitarian access in Syria.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the financial aid commitments made by them to foreign countries at the Paris Climate Summit will be met from the overseas aid budget, or from which other sources; and what safeguards will be put in place to ensure that the funds provided are used exclusively for the purpose intended.

Baroness Verma: The Government will provide £5.8 billion over the next five years to support developing countries using the UK’s International Climate Fund (ICF), which is channeled through DFID, the Department of Energy & Climate Change, and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. All ICF support is Official Development Assistance (ODA). The UK is proud to be a 0.7% donor and is promoting climate smart development across the aid portfolio.We have rigorous programme design processes and robust monitoring and evaluation arrangements for ODA spending, including the ICF. We also use independently reviewed methodologies and key performance indicators to track impact and the value for money of ICF interventions. The Independent Commission on Aid Impact gave the ICF a positive assessment in December 2014, saying it was well on the way to achieving its ambitious objectives.

Developing Countries: Females

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Verma on 10 December 2015 (HLWS370) concerning plans to tackle violence against women and girls overseas, whether the plans will be financed through the overseas aid budget or by separate financial provisions, and what measures will be put in place to ensure that the finance provided is used exclusively to assist the victims of violence.

Baroness Verma: The UK Government is proud of the leadership role that it is taking to tackle violence against women and girls at home and overseas, including domestic violence, sexual violence, FGM and child, early and forced marriage. Plans outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement to address violence against women and girls overseas are financed through the overseas aid budget. This covers a range of interventions, all of which are necessary, to eliminate violence against women and girls. It includes the essential activities providing support to survivors of violence; programming to actively prevent violence; research to test and understand what works to stop violence in different contexts, and efforts to strengthen the international system to deliver results at scale.

EU Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effectiveness of EU aid to developing countries.

Baroness Verma: The UK continues to work hard to ensure EU development aid focuses on the poorest and most fragile countries and that the EU becomes more open and transparent about the challenges it faces in implementing aid projects. The EU has taken important steps to improve gender equality; to communicate better what its aid programmes are achieving; and for its aid to be more closely linked to countries’ own development priorities and more in line with other EU policies including trade, investment and the environment.

EU Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any proposals for diverting a proportion of the EU's external aid to assist member states in receiving and caring for the current increased numbers of refugees, and to job-creating investment in the Middle East and North Africa.

Baroness Verma: With pressure from the United Kingdom and other Member States, the European Union (EU) has mobilised considerable funding to support the international response to the refugee crisis – including within Europe, and to tackle the root causes of migration and displacement in the Middle East and North Africa.Within Europe, the UK is working to ensure that all tools are being used to support the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis, and that the donor effort is well coordinated through the Civil Protection Mechanism. Alongside this, the UK's support for refugees and migrants during the Mediterranean migration crisis has reached nearly £55million. This money is focused on providing life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable people rescued at sea or in transit.In the Middle East and the North Africa, the EU is a leading donor in the response to the Syria crisis with over €5 billion of total budget mobilised by the European Commission and Member States collectively in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilisation assistance. The UK has been at the forefront of this, pledging over £1.1 billion, our largest ever humanitarian response to a single crisis. In addition, the EU Trust Fund for Africa – a €1.8billion fund – will allocate money to projects in the Sahel, Horn and North Africa to tackle the root causes of migration.

EU Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what expertise in the design and supervision of aid and development projects, if any, is available within EU diplomatic posts outside the EU; and if none, whether they will call for a halt to further projects.

Baroness Verma: The EU Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) is responsible for designing European international cooperation and development policy and delivering aid throughout the world.As of 1 January 2015 DG DEVCO had approximately 3600 Staff (officials, contractual agents, local agents and other categories of external staff) both in Headquarters (35%) and in EU Delegations (65%). DG DEVCO has the greatest number of Commission staff in EU Delegations (2350 – approximately 44%). The Commission also draws on Member State contributions to complement and supplement its own expertise. For example, as well drawing on expertise in policy technical experts meetings and management committees, there are a significant number of specialists drawn from Member States under the Seconded National Experts arrangements.

Department for Education

Pupil Referral Units

Baroness Massey of Darwen: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pupils in Pupil Referral Units are reintegrated into mainstream education annually, and what support is available for that to happen.

Lord Nash: Every child, including those who have been excluded, should receive a good quality education to allow them to achieve their full potential. Information on the number of pupils in pupil referral units (PRUs) reintegrated into mainstream education annually is not readily available and it could only be determined at a disproportionate cost.PRUs and other alternative providers should work with commissioners to develop a clearly defined set of objectives for each pupil’s time in alternative provision and their reintegration into mainstream education. Progress against these objectives should be frequently monitored and assessed to ensure that pupils’ needs are being addressed and they return to mainstream school when they are ready. An appropriate package of support should be in place to assist in the reintegration process.The Department has published statutory guidance in 2013 on alternative provision with clearly defined objectives for commissioners of PRUs and alternative provision (AP) to support pupils back into school after an alternative education placement. A copy has been attached to this answer.



Alternative Provision guidance
(PDF Document, 408.08 KB)

Schools: Assessments

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to alter the timing of school exams to accommodate Muslim children during Ramadan, and whether they have similar plans to accommodate Jewish children and the children of other non-Christian religions during their religious festivals.

Lord Nash: This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and I have asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Noble Lord. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Lords Library.

Primary Education: Rural Areas

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how children in small rural primary schools can fully access the National Curriculum.

Lord Nash: The government believes that all children should have an excellent education, regardless of where they live. Maintained schools are required to teach the national curriculum as part of their duty to provide pupils with a broad and balanced school curriculum.The government’s view is that schools, including small rural schools, are best placed to decide how best children are taught the curriculum, and which resources meet their needs and to secure these accordingly.

Schools: Rural Areas

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are able to provide to schools in rural areas with attached swimming pools where the age weighted pupil unit is not sufficient to support the operation of such facilities.

Lord Nash: The Department distributes revenue funding to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant. Each local authority receives a fixed level of schools revenue funding per pupil. The local authority is then responsible for designing a local funding formula, in consultation with its schools forum, which must include an age-weight pupil unit (per pupil funding attracted by each pupil at a school) of at least £2,000 per pupil for primary schools, and £3,000 for secondary schools. In consultation with its school forum, the local authority has the flexibility to set rates higher than these minimum levels. There are two further optional factors that are particularly relevant for rural schools: the lump sum and the sparsity factor. It is for individual schools to manage their budgets within the total provided to them, determined by the local formula.The Department publishes all local authorities’ funding formulae on GOV.UK.

Special Educational Needs

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Education, Health and Care plans are now in place.

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authority has taken the longest amount of time to assess and decide on an Education, Health and Care plan.

Lord Nash: Information on statements of special educational needs and statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans maintained by local authorities is collected in the annual SEN2 data return from local authorities in January each year. The latest available data shows there were 4,205 statutory EHC plans maintained by local authorities, as of January 2015.The Department does not collect information on which local authority has taken the longest amount of time to assess and decide on an EHC plan. Data is collected in the annual SEN2 return on the number of EHC plans which were issued within the 20 weeks set out in regulations.Of the new EHC plans issued in 2014, 64.3% were within the 20 weeks when excluding exception cases. Including exception cases; 61.5% were issued within the 20 weeks. However, these figures cover EHC plans issued in the first four months of the transitional period where local authorities are beginning to implement the new reforms within 20 weeks.This information was published in the statistical first release ‘Statements of SEN and EHC plans: England 2015’, in May 2015. Data for January 2016 is expected to be published in May 2016.

Ministry of Defence

Reserve Forces: Recruitment

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of reserve force recruitment was achieved in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland, in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Earl Howe: The requested information is provided below.Intake into Future Reserves 2020 Volunteer Reserve by Stationed LocationFinancial Year 2012-13Number%Total intake in Army Reserve of which3,960England2,920e73.7 eScotland480 e12.1 eWales290 e7.3 eNorthern Ireland250 e6.3 eSource: Defence Statistics (Tri Service)Financial Year2013-142014-15Number%Number%Total FR20 Volunteer Reserve Intake of which4,1206,810England3,240 e78.6 e5,200 e76.4 eScotland450 e10.9 e770 e11.3 eWales220 e5.3 e470 e6.9 eNorthern Ireland180 e4.4 e330 e4.8 eSource: Defence Statistics (TriService)Notes(1) The FR20 Volunteer Reserve population includes mobilised Volunteer Reserves, High Readiness Reserves (HRR) and those volunteer reserves serving on Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Additional Duties Commitment (ADC). Non Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI), Sponsored Reserves and University Officer Cadets are excluded.(2) Military personnel numbers are sourced from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. Location data are based on the stationed location of the individual as recorded in the ‘Assignment Location’ field of the JPA system. The figures are based on Service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence – where personnel work is not necessarily where they live, this is particularly the case for those serving in National Units. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.(3) Centrally held data dates back to October 2012 for the Maritime Reserve, April 2012 for the Army Reserve and April 2013 for the Royal Air Force Reserves and therefore FY2012-13 Tri Service intake is unavailable.(4) Location statistics have been reported as estimates because stationed location data for Reserve has not been validated.Symbolse EstimateRoundingWhen rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts.

Reserve Forces: Recruitment

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total number of recruits to the reserve forces in the UK for the last three years for which figures are available.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 17 December 2015 to Question HL4348 to my noble Friend The Marquess of Lothian, which contains Future Reserve 2020 Volunteer Reserve intake for the previous three financial years.http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2015-12-08/HL4348/

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual cost of the in-work benefits for EU workers, of which the Prime Minister is negotiating to delay payment.

Lord Freud: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for Employment (Ms Patel) in the House of Commons on 20 November 2015 to Question number 211618.

Housing Benefit: Tower Hamlets

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 8 December 2015 (HL3997), what has been identified as the cause of the overpayment of housing benefit to those claimants migrated onto Universal Credit, and how many claimants in Tower Hamlets have been affected.

Lord Freud: We have safeguards in place to ensure an effective transition and avoid impacts on overlapping benefits.

Universal Credit: Tower Hamlets

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets currently receive Universal Credit.

Lord Freud: The latest published statistics show that, as at December 2015, there were 1,409 Universal Credit claimants in Tower Hamlets.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Ground Water

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the condition and capacity of naturally occurring underground aquifers in the light of the high levels of rainfall in the UK over the last six weeks.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Environment Agency routinely monitors groundwater levels in England’s principal aquifers and publishes these monthly in a national water situation report.Rainfall totals for December were above average across England at 165% of the long term average. For a second consecutive month north-east and north-west England had exceptionally high rainfall totals for the time of year. Groundwater levels increased at approximately two-thirds of indicator sites during December and two thirds of sites were classed as normal or higher for the time of year.The Environment Agency undertakes monitoring and assessment of different aquifers locally, based upon the potential risk of groundwater flooding. A system of groundwater flood alerts and warnings is provided through our incident response procedures for those communities most vulnerable to potential groundwater flooding.The groundwater situation currently varies widely across the country, with higher than average and exceptionally high groundwater levels in parts of Cumbria, Yorkshire, Wessex, East Hampshire and Sussex whilst across the rest of southern England groundwater levels are around average or below average for the time of year.

Ground Water

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimates, if any, they have made of the changes to the water table in Cumbria, Yorkshire and Lancashire as a result of rainfall over the last six weeks.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Environment Agency’s water situation report for the north west of England (which is published on the Gov.UK website) reports the situation for observation boreholes in the main bedrock aquifer in Cumbria and Lancashire, the Sherwood Sandstone. The Sherwood Sandstone is moderately unresponsive to rainfall events and this is partly because of the high storage characteristics of the sandstone and also because much of it is covered by low permeability glacial clays.Hydrographs for Skirwith (Cumbria) and Yew Tree Farm (West Lancashire) are thought to be representative of this aquifer, although this monitoring is undertaken for water resources purposes not groundwater flooding purposes.The Skirwith hydrograph shows that the groundwater level has risen quite dramatically since mid-November in response to recent rainfall..The hydrograph for Yew Tree Farm shows a similar but less dramatic rise, with levels close to record highs (the site has been monitored since 1971 but with groundwater levels rising steadily since the late 1990s due to reduction in nearby abstraction).The sudden rise in levels was from quite a low point due to a relatively dry year and especially early autumn. Both of the examples show a steady reduction in levels up to the rainfall starting in November.The Environment Agency routinely monitors groundwater throughout Yorkshire. Water levels in November 2015 were:on the low side of average in the Chalk Principal Aquifer and the Corallian Limestone Principal Aquiferjust above average in the Magnesian Limestone Principal Aquiferwell above average in the Sherwood Sandstone Principal AquiferLevels in all the aquifers in Yorkshire have responded to the rainfall in late December 2015 and early January 2016:Levels in the Chalk have responded strongly to the recent rainfall.Groundwater levels in the Corallian Limestone near Malton are now at record highs and the result is ongoing groundwater flooding in Malton. North Yorkshire County Council are coordinating a multi-agency response including pumping to minimise the impact on local communities.Levels in the Magnesian Limestone and the Sherwood Sandstone have also responded to the rainfall and are now at maximum levels for the time of year.The Environment Agency undertakes monitoring and assessment of different aquifers locally, based upon the potential risk of groundwater flooding. A system of groundwater flood alerts and warnings is provided through our incident response procedures for those communities most vulnerable to potential groundwater flooding.Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs)(Local Councils) have responsibility for local flood risk including groundwater under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. This Act gives LLFAs duties to prepare local flood risk management strategies and to co-operate with other risk management authorities, and powers to carry out local flood risk management.

Flood Control: Finance

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they take into account social vulnerability and wider deprivation when making decisions about flood protection investment.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Governement’s contribution to capital flood protection schemes (Flood Defence Grant in Aid) takes into account the increased vulnerability of households in deprived areas. Schemes in these areas received an enhanced national grant contribution and so are more likely to be fully funded by Government. Levels of deprivation are assessed using the existing Index of Multiple Deprivation, commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Floods: Insurance

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are reviewing their decision to exclude small businesses from the Flood Re insurance package.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: While we recognise the difficult challenges that some small businesses could face in areas of high flood risk, we are not currently aware of evidence that there is a systemic problem with the availability of commercial flood insurance.We have, however, committed to work with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and other stakeholders to monitor the insurance market for small businesses. We are keen to work across Government, and with a range of business interests, to better understand the nature and extent of any problem that might exist.The ABI have assured us that the insurance industry will continue to provide insurance to small businesses on a competitive basis.

Floods

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the current funding levels of (1) the Environment Agency, (2) lead drainage authorities, and (3) district councils, on (a) small scale flood alleviation schemes, (b) preventive and regular maintenance of drainage systems, and (c) the ability of these bodies to respond to emergencies.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government confirmed in the Spending Review that the Environment Agency’s maintenance budget would be protected, in real terms, over the life of this Parliament.Under the Land Drainage Act, internal drainage boards assess how much funding they need in order to carry out works and then charge this to rate and levy payers accordingly. Internal drainage boards receive funding from agricultural rate payers in their drainage district and from district and unitary authorities via a special levy which they place on those bodies.The Government provides funding to lead local flood authorities to carry out their duties under the Flood and Water Management Act but local authorities decide what to spend on drainage and flood prevention according to local priorities. As part of a consultation on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2016-17, the Government has proposed protecting this funding in real terms over the life of this Parliament.

Floods

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the role of district councils in two-tier areas in the maintenance of drainage systems, the prevention of local flooding, and action when flooding occurs.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: District councils have several responsibilities and powers in relation to flooding and land drainage. These include powers to carry out flood risk management works on ordinary watercourses, powers to make bye-laws to manage flood risk in the authority’s area from ordinary watercourses and to secure the efficient working of a drainage system in the authority’s district or area. Those in coastal areas are also Coastal Protection Authorities.District councils are also responsible for a set of civil protection duties for emergencies. Plans are regularly reviewed and tested as part of local exercise arrangements.Defra commissioned an independent evaluation into the arrangements for managing local flood risk under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The evaluation has now concluded and will be published in due course. One of the areas the evaluation explored was partnership working between the Lead Local Flood Authority and other risk management authorities, including district councils.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing Estates: Regeneration

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their definition of a sink estate and what criteria they are using to draw up a list of them; what discussions they have had, or will have, with local authorities before drawing up such a list and before any decisions are made about the future of estates on that list; and which estates they have so far identified that (1) qualify as sink estates, and (2) they propose to demolish in whole or in part.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Estates Regeneration Advisory Panel members, criteria and terms of reference will be published in due course.The Panel will evaluate the potential for the regeneration of particular estates over the coming months, and will report by this year’s Autumn Statement.

HM Treasury

Money Laundering: EU Action

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made towards agreement within the EU on updating the fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (‘the Directive’) has been agreed and was formally adopted in June 2015. Member States now have until June 2017 to transpose its requirements into national law. The Government plans to publish a consultation on transposition of the Directive by early Spring which will run for a full 12 weeks. We will consult on areas where the Directive gives us options or discretion on how we transpose its provisions as well as areas where we can improve the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism regime.We will continue to consider any further changes to this regime in response to emerging threats.

Shares: Sales

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider making it an offence to lend shares for short-selling without permission of the beneficial owners.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The short selling of securities is a legitimate and longstanding investment technique that can provide a positive contribution to efficient market functioning through supporting price formation and providing liquidity to markets.It is already illegal to lend any property, including shares, without the consent of the beneficial owner. However, there are limited circumstances in which fund managers are able to lend shares on behalf of investors (including for purposes such as facilitating a short sale). Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules, fund managers are able to do so if they have explicitly set out that they will do this in fund documentation, including the prospectus. This documentation forms part of the contract, which the investors agree to when they invest in the fund. FCA supervisors monitor compliance with applicable rules in this regard. These existing rules allow the FCA to take action, where appropriate, if shares are lent without the permission of the beneficial owner.

Public Sector Debt

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what debt, if any, they have that dates from before 1 January 1901; and what are the arrangements for payment of that debt.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The government has redeemed all gilts issued before 1 January 1901. On 5 July 2015, the government redeemed all outstanding undated gilts, some of which pre-dated 1901. These were the 2½% Annuities, 2¾% Annuities and 2½% Consolidated Stock, first issued in 1853, 1884 and 1888 respectively.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Climate Change

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications of climate change for (1) the climate and geology of West Cumbria, and (2) future nuclear developments in the country.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The energy National Policy Statements published in 2011 set out the considerations that should be taken into account by developers and the Planning Inspectorate to help ensure proposed new energy infrastructure, including new nuclear power stations, is resilient to climate change. The Nuclear National Policy Statement also explains that the independent nuclear regulators will ensure new nuclear power stations, including the one proposed for Moorside, will be located, constructed, operated and decommissioned with the long-term impacts of climate change in mind.

Northern Ireland Office

Equality

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether in considering policy, they regard equality and parity of esteem to be the same, and if not, why not.

Lord Dunlop: The UK Government is committed to affording due respect and parity of esteem to all the people in Northern Ireland as underpinned by the 1998 Belfast Agreement and in accordance with the obligations on the Government to promote equality and prevent discrimination across the United Kingdom. The Northern Ireland Office and its agencies are subject to anti-discrimination law in Northern Ireland and to the provisions of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. This requires public authorities carrying out functions in Northern Ireland to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between a wide range of groups, specified in section 75(1), including persons of different religious belief or political opinion. They are also obliged to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

Equality: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parity of esteem, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, is applicable in the outworking of the law, and if so, how.

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parity of esteem is applicable to terrorists who operated in Northern Ireland and resided in the Republic of Ireland.

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider parity of esteem, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, to have been a success, and if so, on what basis.

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what redress is available to those who do not feel that they have obtained parity of esteem as promised in the Belfast Agreement 1998.

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation they have had with community groups, organisations, and individuals to assess whether the policy of parity of esteem set out in the Belfast Agreement 1998 is working effectively, and what action they have taken as a result.

Lord Dunlop: I have nothing further to add to my earlier responses on parity of esteem.

Equality: Republic of Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will list all the occasions they discussed parity of esteem, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, with the government of Ireland; who attended; on what date; what was discussed; and what action, if any, was taken.

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the context of parity of esteem as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland regarding its policy of only recruiting Irish speakers for official posts.

Lord Dunlop: As has been explained previously to the Noble Lord, the UK and Irish Governments meet regularly at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. These include matters relating to the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures they apply to ensuring that all parties to the Belfast Agreement 1998 honour the terms of that agreement, and what action they can take if they assess that other parties to that agreement are not complying with it.

Lord Dunlop: The UK Government meets regularly with the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government, both at ministerial and official level, to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern, including matters relating to the implementation of the Belfast Agreement and subsequent Agreements.

Department of Health

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority can confirm that a stated aim of the proposed research to perform genome editing in human embryos by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute has been to better understand why miscarriages occur in some pregnancies; if so, whether they can disclose which specific assay the researchers concerned have proposed using to determine whether embryos subjected to gene editing might be either able or unable to implant in a womb; and if not, why not.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, permits the editing of genes in human embryos for research purposes only. It is illegal under the Act to place such embryos in a woman. There are no plans to change this.The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that its licence committee considered an application to use CRISPR-Cas9 (a genome editing technique) in one of their licensed research projects on 14 January 2016. The outcome of the committee’s consideration and a description of the research will be made public as soon as the minutes have been agreed and the applicant has been informed.

Artificial Insemination

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recommendations the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has made to the Department of Health in the light of recently published claims that about 800 babies have already been fathered by a 41-year old man in the UK who has been an unlicensed sperm donor for 16 years.

Lord Prior of Brampton: A private arrangement between a man and a woman for him to provide sperm to her for insemination at home is not covered by the legislative controls set out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended. Unlike regulated sperm donation, where donors are screened for inheritable genetic conditions and tested for the presence of serious infections such as HIV, women making a private arrangement have no such protection and risk themselves and any resulting child contracting a serious, potentially life threatening, disease.The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority advises that the safest and most reliable way of obtaining sperm from a donor is via a clinic that is licensed, inspected and regulated by the Authority.

Commissioning Support Units

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as a result of the review of the NHS Commissioning Board’s policy on the autonomy of Commissioning Support Units (CSUs), CSUs that want to become staff enterprises or staff mutuals will have access to working capital on the same basis as other options open to CSUs.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It will be for NHS England’s Commissioning Committee to decide, in due course, whether to offer Clinical Support Units (CSUs) who apply to become autonomous, access to working capital and if so, on what terms.

Commissioning Support Units

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the requirement laid down by the NHS Commissioning Board for Commissioning Support Units to become autonomous by the end of 2016 is to be removed.

Lord Prior of Brampton: No decision has been made. The proposed change was at the request of Clinical Support Units’ (CSU) Managing Directors - to give greaterflexibility to apply to become autonomous when they are ready, rather than having to work to a fixed timetable. A decision will be taken once NHS England’sCommissioning Committee has met.

NHS: Drugs

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of evidence from many parts of the world, what evaluation has been carried out of the potential cost savings from centralising NHS procurement of common generic drugs.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As I said in my previous answer on 4 January to Question HL4657, on behalf of National Health Service secondary care establishments (hospitals) in England the Department’s Commercial Medicines Unit undertakes a long established centralised tender programme for framework agreements for generic medicines. This is in compliance with European Union procurement regulations.

NHS 111: East Midlands

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the outcome of the Clinical Commissioning Group review into recent allegations about the NHS 111 service in the East Midlands.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England advises that North Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) comprehensively and swiftly investigated the allegations about the NHS 111 service in the East Midlands. The core of the allegations has no substance.The report however made a number of recommendations for the service, and the CCG will update NHS England regularly as these are implemented.

Nurses: Training

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the planned replacement of student bursaries by loans, how many nurse placements will be funded by Health Education England in 2017–18.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It is not possible to determine these numbers at this stage as these will be based on the Health Education England (HEE) workforce plan, which is completed annually ahead of each student intake. HEE will continue to have a key leading role in the commissioning of nursing, midwifery and allied health courses. It will continue to provide sufficient clinical placement funding for those places needed to meet the workforce planning needs of the National Health Service.

Chiropody

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 6 January (HL4745), on what evidence the forecast in Health Education England's (HEE) commissioning and investment plan for 2016–17 of a rise in podiatry workforce demand of 1.5 per cent between 2015 and 2020 is based; and why HEE decided to reduce the number of commissioned education and training courses in podiatry in 2016–17 by 9.7 per cent compared to 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton: National Health Service future workforce demand is based on a comprehensive collection of NHS provider forecasts taken up by Health Education England (HEE) and discussed both locally and nationally with commissioners and professional leaders as to likely direction of travel.In order to afford the expansion of priority areas such as adult nurse, paramedic and mental health training numbers, HEE has taken a risk assessment based approach to deciding on where to focus commissions for training places in 2016/17.The HEE commissioning and investment plan - 2016/17 includes a forecast increase in the level of podiatry commissions of 36.4% by 2020.

Dental Services: Greater Manchester

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) children, and (2) adults, had an appointment with an NHS dentist in each of the 10 districts of Greater Manchester in each of the last five years.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Information is not available in the format requested.The attached tables show the unique number of patients who received National Health Service dental care in the previous 24 months. An equivalent measure covering the 12 month period is not available.  



Greater Manchester dental care
(Word Document, 24.15 KB)

Hospitals: Private Finance Initiative

Baroness Pinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the necessity to ensure that private finance initiative hospitals retain maximum use is distorting the siting of full accident and emergency and consultant-led maternity units.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Decisions on reconfiguration are for local commissioners based on identification of local need. NHS England published Planning, assuring and delivering service change for patients on 29 October 2015, a copy of which is attached, providing refreshed guidance for those considering, and involved in, service reconfiguration.The guidance makes clear that any proposal for service reconfiguration must satisfy the Government’s four tests for change:(i) strong public and patient engagement;(ii) consistency with current and prospective need for patient choice;(iii) a clear clinical evidence base; and(iv) support for proposals from clinical commissioners.The guidance includes that commissioners should build proposals by identifying the range of service change options that could improve outcomes within available resources; and that proposals should be clear about the impact of the proposed changes on outcomes for patients.



NHS England service reconfiguration guidance
(PDF Document, 2.03 MB)

NHS Trusts: Finance

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many NHS trusts would not have been in financial balance in financial year 2014–15 without further in-year supplements to their approved budget for that year; and what percentage of all NHS trusts that represents.

Lord Prior of Brampton: National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts do not receive budgets directly from the Department. They receive income via the provision of services to NHS England and clinical commissioning groups, through what might be described as trading activity.In addition to normal income sources, in 2014-15 the Department provided non-recurrent deficit support income directly to NHS trusts. Without this non-recurrent funding, 125 organisations would have been in financial deficit. This equates to 51% of all NHS trusts and foundation trusts.